If a management company suggested that I use candles at night to save on electricity I don't know what I would say back...lol

If that's what they want, maybe they should charge more for renting the villa.

I understand the need to save electricity, but sounds rediculous.

Wanna: Check the relocation board. Lots of discussion on WAPA, solar, etc. Click above right.

Currently, as of the 01 July 2008 approved rate increase, WAPA is at .33 per KH LEAC Rate with another request before the PSC for
.43 per KH and also an increase in both the electric amd water base rate.

Perhaps WAPA needs to figure out how to use the rest of the equipment. They have only figured out how to run 40% of what they have on site. I also understand that many places run their own generators and have extra power that WAPA won't buy from them. They would rather have rolling black outs. Who the hell runs this company? Sounds like a con job to me.

I own a vacation home/villa on WI and when I read your post I did experience an OMG moment. I agree that electricity rates have gone through the roof. We regularly review our costs to consider if a rate increase is in order. And, we do ask our guests to turn off lights/ceiling fans/etc. when they are not in the room or home in an effort to keep our rates affordable. (I'm sure many of our guests are vigilent about doing this - some are not.....thus, reviewing costs on a regular basis is a prudent action.) Also, owners have to/should plan well in advance for any rate increases to minimize the impact on future, unconfirmed guests. That said - We would NEVER ask our guests to use candles at night! NEVER! There's too much risk for fire. We've actually removed candles from our home and provide battery powered lights and flashlights and discourage the use of candles. Now.....WI is a little different in that we don't enjoy as many public services as STX, STT, or STJ enjoy. If there's a fire on any island, it's definitely an emergency. A fire on WI would very likely be a catastrophe. If you do rent this villa, I would be very cautious about using "candles at night to keep the electric bill down."

Greetings-

"..... When we went to rent this villa the management company suggested we use candles at night to keep the electric bill down. "
WannaB

FL, I totally agree with you on how dangerous using candles at night can be. When it's dark down in the islands...it's DARK! What if you have to get up and go to the bathroom? Take a candle with you? Risk tripping and falling? The management company was totally wrong in saying that.

I too am surprised at the candle thing! We hate the use of candles in our villas as I can't tell you how much candle wax I have had to clean up and the things it has destroyed! I do provide candles (against my honey's wishes), but I provide candles in protective containers. I figure the guests are going to use candles regardless (romance) and if I provide something that will not spill wax, I am better off for it.
Bizarre that an agent would suggest the use of candles!
We do ask that the a/c's be turned off when they are not in the villas. This, I feel, is not asking for a lot!

Candles are a very bad idea in a villa. It always surprises me when we arrive at a rental villa and find some. My folks had a vacation place in the upper peninsula of Michigan where the fire department was 10 miles away and all-volunteer so avoiding fire was always on our minds. Also scary when folks have been whirring the blender all day and then start walking around with lit candles. If I were lucky enough to own a villa I would outlaw candles - lol.

Since they came out on the market we have started to travel to villas with those little battery tealights. We put them in any low glass or bowl (or plastic ware as they do not get hot) that we find in the villa's kitchen cabinet, put some little rocks or flowers around them and they add some candlelight without adding to the room temperature or being a fire hazard. And, when you use them outdoors they don't blow out or blow wax all over the place. The larger battery candles are now getting affordable, too. They are made from real wax and give a great glow without a flame.

For power outages, how about those crank flashlights, villa owners? These are inexpensive and always ready to go - never need to replace any batteries.

Have to second the crank flashlights - I have three of them and they're invaluable when power outages occur. Beats fumbling around trying to find the one of 10 battery-operated flashlights that's actually working. I also have a few emergency plug-in lights which come on when the power goes out. Their light only lasts for about 15 minutes but that's plenty enough time to find the flashlights which always seem to NOT be where you were sure you left them the last time around. Cheers!

Crank flashlights & rechargeable (plug-in) flashlights are great....but would probably be "misplaced".....

We use the large glass enclosed candles.....when power is out for a short time.

I thought about using the rechargeable fluorescent light bulb fixtures (they screw into a regular lamp socket)...they last for about 90 minutes, but trying to explain their operation to guests would be difficult........they need to be "plugged in" continuously and only go on when the power is off......guests would complain that the bulbs are defective when they "can't turn them on".

I have been using oil lamps with a mirror placed behind them during power outages for many years - the ambient light fills a room nicely and they give much more light than candles. You do have to be aware of the safety issues as it is an open flame but it is much more controllable.

We keep the crank up flashlights beside each bed at our villas! As a matter of fact, it is required of all villas handled by McLaughlin to keep flash lights available for every bedroom. It is the maids job to make sure they are all in working order and keeps extra batteries on hand at the villa. This is a must!
We also have 12 volt lighting available for our guests in each villa. Our guests really don't even need flashlights, but we still keep them out regardless.
No matter how you try to avoid candle usage, believe me, you can't! Guests bring candles with them quite often.

Sherri - I'd post a ban on candles and charge for any damage. As a renter, I wouldn't be offended - but maybe that's just me. Besides the safety issue, what a pain to have to scrape wax off of surfaces and some surfaces you just can't get it all. There's often too much breeze outside and from ceiling fans inside for open candles. I will confess that when we were at Diva in '07 with no breeze and all of those nasty 'squitos after the heavy rains that we did buy a couple of those citronella bucket candles for the deck - the ones with the candle only half way up the bucket. We sat around them (like a campfire - 😀 - but no s'mores) one night when the power went out but then we started to get buzzed on citronella fumes and with that crowd that wasn't a very good thing- :P.

I've often wondered if the housekeepers have some sort of a checklist to make sure what's supposed to be at a villa is there, linen and towel counts, etc. Are they also supposed to check the for burned out bulbs, non-working lights, etc. And, another question- is there a McL A requirement for a fire extinguisher in the kitchen, too? That would be a good safety add if there isn't. Have seen them at various villas but not all.

I gave Paul one of those auto-setting clock radio alarms as he is technology-challenged and moaned about having to set and re-set his high tech (to him - lol) digital alarm. :S With all of the power outages those might be a great add to a villa - not only do they have battery backup but even if the battery is dead they self-set whenever the power is restored, they self-adjust for regional time changes and they are not all that pricey.

Margy:

At the Point Pleasant Resort we are required to have a fire extinguisher. ...it's professionally inspected once a year.

We also have a digital radio alarm clock with a battery backup, smoke detectors, battery operated clock, flashlights (with extra batteries...that seem to disappear regularly), and candles (the large glass enclosed type).

We haven't had any problems with guests using candles in our unit......no burn marks or wax spills. Then again how often is the power out at night? We spent 3 months on STT this winter and I can only remember the power being out twice at night...and one of those times it was when we were sleeping.

Our housekeeper does inspect various items.....if replacements are needed. If the guest finds a light bulb not working...we keep extras in the kitchen drawer or they can just call the maintenance people. Of course we prefer that the guest replace the bulb themselves since it costs us a $12. labor fee when replaced by maintenance.

Sherri:

What is the 12 volt lighting system that you mentioned? Are these "emergency lights"?

F.I.

If anybody thinks the latest 22% WAPA increase is just a little glitch, watch out for the next raise to be approved next month...

MargyZ and FI - Any commercial entity here is required to have fire extinguishers at hand and in good working order, and I assume that would also apply to villa/condo owners since they also fall under the commercial category.

I'm also curious as to the 12V lighting which sound like emergency lighting - i.e. they go on in event of a power outage. As mentioned before, I bought a couple of the simple (and very inexpensive) plug-ins for my place and so far so good. They've been plugged in for a couple of years now and have jumped into action several times, still going strong. Cheers!

12 volt emergency lighting: We have a 100 watt solar panel, a 30 amp charge controller, a deep cycle marine battery to a inline fuse or breaker box which then goes to some boat lights that we purchased at Island Marine. The charge controller monitors the battery so that the solar panel doesn't over charge it. Seems like a lot, but it really isn't. It's more like the desire. At home, we also have a little German fan over our bed which we can turn on! (We also purchased a 18 volt Ryobi rechargeable fan from Home Depot, which we also use when the power is out)!
Yes, At McLaughlin Anderson both the maids and caretakers have ck lists to follow! They hold a yearly Hurricane Meeting in which all of these topic sheets/ punch lists which are updated and are re-distributed to each and every maid and caretaker! They all have to work as a teem! It is show time as you know! 🙂
You see, Margy? Even you went out and got the citronella candles! lol! It is impossible to ban them, I keep a note in the villa that says we wil charge for any damages due to candle usage! Candle wax got all over the pool coping and this was an absolute nightmare which we never did get entirely out.
Have the battery back up alarm clocks, seems like they are pretty basic now. And yes, all villas are required to have fire extinguishers, which really is an insurance requirement as well as a standard villa requirement. These are a must!

Question:

How many times a year is the power out? How many times during the night when lighting is necessary? How long?

When I was in STT from January - March we experienced, if my memory is correct, two (2) outages. One outage was a result of our own internal power lines (not WAPA) and the other was during a severe storm (when we were sleeping).

Even in New Jersey we experience power interruptions.....we notice it when my microwave oven starts flashing when the power comes back on.

F.I.

From 7/10 to 7/23 the Randolph Harley power plant experienced some major problems and we had more than a few major outages followed by rolling blackouts during the day and the night. And that's just the ones that WAPA comments upon. Glad you weren't here for them! Cheers!

Yes, Sherri - I confessed :$) - and that was the last time I ever used flame candles at a villa (so help me) . We wanted to get those "Off" lanterns but CUL and K-M were sold out so we got the bucket candles - the big ones with the wax only half way up so they wouldn't blow around and we were very careful - lol. If we had, pardon the expression, kicked the bucket, 😀 and wax somehow got all over the deck I would have expected that to come out of our security deposit, though. Thanks for the info on the checklists - I just knew there had to be a system for everything to get done.

As for the candle discussion, I guess I just assumed that guests use candles for other occasions than power outages. They're nice at dinner and around the pool or jacuzzi so I understand why folks use them - they just make a mess and are a hazard. Some villas have nice low lighting out on the decks which is very nice -wish all did.